Toss unnecessary papers, invent your own holidays, remember that people don’t necessarily perceive the world the way that you do, and the fun of scratch-n-sniff.Get in touch: @gretchenrubin; @elizabethcraft; podcast@gretchenrubin; happiercast.com/172; 774-277-9336.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
This is an unofficial transcript meant for reference. Accuracy is not guaranteed.
Hello and welcome to happier podcast about you guessed it had it
half year this legal talk about war.
and how you should toss unnecessary papers and why you might invent your own holiday. I'm gretchen ribbon writer, who studies happiness, good habits in human nature. I mean
iirc city and with me, as my sister elizabeth craft and live with you and I have spent many happy hours tossing unnecessary papers together. That's me elizabeth craft, a tv writer and producer living in los angeles,
yeah grudge if it weren't for you, I would still have reese my
apartment that I rented in ninety ninety
I remember that one that was again, there was a good toss. Felicity in episode,
one, a team and in sixty seven, so kind of every year. We're talking about design your summer
and I have a couple of ideas about what I am going to do to design my summer. How about you?
I'm having a tough time with this, because you know my job is starting. My show the fix got picked up on a b c, and it's so huge that had just kind of blocks out everything else right and makes it hard to plan. So I'm still working on this
say your summer is really going to be a summer. No, although I am happy to report, I guess this is one thing I did to design my summer a week of the summer, which I didn't about fifteen minutes, which I planned a trip for adam and jacket.
to go to hawaii. Yes, so wide
down, I had a week so we're doing that, but I dont know what else to summer hold so its ongoing. But what about you? Why made a list of some things that are
to do one is I made a list of ten stores like crazy stores that I want
Is it with allies and Elinor, because you- and this is new york city, so there's some really kind of specialty stores that are pretty crazy. I was at one time to this cause:
tumor and make up artists who was telling me about this, like manhattan, wardrobe design place, which she says, the super cool they ve got like fake blood and stuff like that about, let's just go
grant we don't need to buy an effect. Plugin will be gone, it will be funded, just go check it out. I want to plan a little trip, along with each girl, so want to go on a trip with just you,
us and I've been to make a list of people to have lunch. With a couple of years ago, I tried to have lunch with somebody every single day that was too much to that was too much, but I'm working on a list which I'm gonna finish by this at the end of this weekend, and then I'm going to just try to hit those people which will not be everyday but it'll
a lot of people to see and also so my book outer order, inner calm is inching towards being. You know, ready for publication, it's coming out in march, and so in honor of outer order, inner calm, I'm going to do a deep, deep, clutter clearing.
We are putting down the first and second layers, but then you get into deep clutter and it turns out
winter is ruthless
an relentless footing
the glaring, the clutter, and so I'm ve try to recruit her. I made a list of
every room in our apartment and I want whenever we feel like it and it just from time to time we're going to tackle room by women, really look for deep clutter and I think that's gonna feel good gaddafi.
good and gretchen. We also wanted to give an update on the
Jim, that we had an episode, one sixty eight about the mother in law who kept buying tons of unwanted baby gifts. Even when asked not to do so
We heard from a lot of people and many of them suggested directing the gift giving such as a college fund, but somehow we get this
answered this. Mother in law will not be satisfied with just being like here's money for the college fund yeah, it doesn't sound like that's going to be her thing. Yes, people also suggested that you ask the mother in law to bring food like the birthday cake,
Well, then, with a thing like: where, were you a big event? You still
hang up loaded with treats and everybody I'll make a fuss and she's bringing gifts, ear, choosing things and bringing things so that we thought like that. That could be a possibility that seems like it
work on. Another idea came from Karen who said I have been invited to a family members. Third birthday party and the note at the bottom of the page said here: presences. All we ask if you want to bring a gift, we will be donating. Any gifts to children's hospital perfect
solution. The mother wouldn't even have to address the situation with her mother in law. If the grandmother brings gifts, the bomb can just pass them along to a local charity, and nothing ever has to be said right. That's just like on the invitation so you're not even having the face to face encounter, and then this is from Jen. She said,
I said my brother and sister in law have two solutions to this problem. One they have asked for all of us to contribute to the five twenty nine plan for the future education of their children, as many people suggest see, if you can direct it towards the college fund and to anything that doesn't fit goes into the.
And parents house and lives there for the children to use when visiting so anything that that the grandmother or the mother in law would bring in. You would can back until, like. Oh, you hang onto this and then you can use it with the baby when you're together at your house, that's not a bad
idea that's about idea like it gap, though thanks every
one for weighing in on that and has a tricky question analysts in this regard. Try this at home tip is to toss unnecessary papers and the thing is Alyssa. Would you agree with me that this of all the different kinds of clutter clothes, clutter, toy, clutter, kitchen, clutter car
we're all this kind of clutter, the getting rid of papers is really one of the hardest kinds like it's. It's not very satisfying fight, not a sound, my meaning at a closet, and it's really anxiety provoking. I think what you think. Yes, I do.
Totally agree, because it feels like well, I might need that important piece of paper. It's like also because there's that phrase important papers yeah and it's like whoa, what constitutes an important paper. You know in this day and age plus you have to look at every pdf, for you don't want to just throw out a piece of paper that you haven't looked at, although that's probably not a bad idea, and so that is the problem. It's very tough, and also it's like you clear, such a small amount of space
as you know, it's just a stack of papers and so time consuming. And yet I feel like it's one of the most deadly and draining worms.
I feel, like having those old papers. Aren't it's distracting cause like then, when you're looking for something that you actually need, you have to kind of like half skim a bunch of stuff like you're, constantly kind of moving things around and sorting them. So it's a very draining kind of clutter. I mean, if you have like
a coat closet that you never look at and there's just like a bunch of stuff jammed in there and you never go in and out. It doesn't really weigh on your mind very much, but like paper papers, every time you open or have to go through them, it can become really overwhelming and it seems like. Is there something I should be doing with these papers? It's like there's a lot attached to them. There's a lot attached to it, and so here's the
questions to ask yourself as you're going through that may be, will clarify your decision, making about whether its appropriate alike of something
and one of them- and it is one of my favorite of our many adventures and clutter clearing- was that this was one of my favorite. My favorite episodes is the question. Do you actually need this piece of paper or receive what specific
Does it serve, and I remember when we were clearing your clutter one time you just had these masses of statements from your union. Other writers skilled- and it was
Question like how do we organize these and do we need to like you know, create some kind of special folder or special notebook or something, and then it was like? What do you actually need these statements and you were like? No, I don't need these statements. I never use these statements these days
I definitely that I need, and we just it was so it was just like huge pile just into the recycling. You know, because once you ask the question, do I need it? No, you don't need a grudge. I have to point out that
Clutter clearing session is the one where we actually filled up the trash shoot YAP. Am I
in the hallway of my apartment. Building there was a trash shoot
we could throw nothing else away because refilled it up. Now.
With that we got a lot done that was thou.
I was hearing. I can get you a cat pack to move from one apartment of another in los angeles, and we ask that was. That was a whole. I should write a short story about that, because we have tackled,
Had we had many many adventures along the way and by the way we should say this is probably something that now would be emails
so I wouldn't even a mere in water, but, like goodness thing don't printed out,
if you dont need, has been filed, the that you pointed out, but then, but we all have stuff like this, even even even in the age of emails. Somehow these paper
proliferate and it kind of related question is and if you're trying to decide, if you actually need it because sometimes you're like well, maybe I do need it save yourself, but have you
ever actually used, because maybe your thing in my own, I really do need this, but then you have you ever used it because you probably don't actually needed if you haven't actually used it cuz I'm as we have sort of a theory of the case.
This will come in handy one day, but if you ve never actually used it, you can probably
yeah, then there's how easy would it be to replace if you didn't need it, except for items
old letters and journals. Most things can be replaced, yeah, yeah, soap, its statement, or you know some there's a lot of things where you can take a risk, because,
If, even if you make a mistake like if you throw away your old journals, they are never coming back, but a lot of things. If you, it might be kind of a hassle to hunted down, but you could get your hands on it if it turned out you needed it. If it turned out, you made a mistake. So it's not it's not such a high stakes. Things took two up.
Put it in recycling and then there's also ask yourself: will it quickly become data like travel or shopping information thats a really good one year? I can make some people really love to keep that sort of stuff around.
and it's just now, especially now with the internet. Everything becomes dated so quickly. Why are you keeping kind of this static
version of it like. If you mark it up or it's somehow useful to you, then you're you are using it, but if you're keeping something kind of as a resource, it probably isn't a very helpful resource, because if you actually got to the point where you are planning that
level? You'd, say habited go online and see like have. Has the schedule changed things been updated? Is this restaurant even still
when in seattle you know you you can't, you can't depend on it unless it somehow useful to you. But often you might not you you just if it was like ten best restaurants in seattle, you just look up ten best us
once in seattle today, you wouldn't look in writing that you had from two years ago is like you: don't need to keep them
related to that about how the internet sometimes makes some kinds of clutter easy to clear is like one
that. I keep a lot of that. I realize I dont need to keep a lot of is manuals. You know, like you get link, we just got a new toaster cause our test to die,
and it's like it's got this little manual with it. It's like ok, first of all, do I think that I will ever need the toaster manual. Probably not, and the second of all is for some reason. I do
I need the tester manual like the handle falls off and you think like. Oh, is there a way to just like snap this handle back on? You could just
get up online because all the manuals our online so that some bunch of stuff that
I know I used to go out of my way to create sort of a file where I had all the manuals, which, of course I never looked at, and I didn't even remember that I had it until it came time to put it all into the recycling bin, but you can,
number that for that sort of information, you can look it up online. If you need it near, that's probably chew drawers. Now they mention. I regret we have at home, though we could probably just dump cause. I think that all has manuals-
yes, well, it's interesting that you're saying this because I remember in your office I said: can I throw
These manuals and you no because that text up is like in ad
domain and he may want them, but maybe so
I trying to be respectful, bring it up to him yeah, you could say to him: hey we'll, have more room for your baseball caps. If you get rid of your the manuals, all this tech stuff comes with so many gadgets and gives
It was in remotes and cables and manuals- and it's just you know you're like do. I need any of this stuff, but everything has to be evaluated
and and related to that is in this. We talked about this before, like what happens, if you don't have this thing, what are the consequences like? What, if you throw it away, and you can't get it back? What happens? Usually not much! You know, aside from something totally sentimental yup. The only thing it could mean is like a very frustrating long phone call like being on hold trying to get something sent to press yeah, that's the worst. That could happen right right and here's something that's that's kind of. I think this is one of the hardest things to let go of and was something that was once quite useful, unnecessary and now
It's not because it related to a part of your life, that's over and I think, a lot of times clutter, at least for me, the foreign that my clutter takes. I think a lot of people have forward looking clutter when they're like. I might need this in the future, and then some people have backward looking clutter, which was like I loved this, or this was important to me. It is important to someone I love in the past. Mind tends to be things from the past. I dont really worry about the future, but I hang onto stuff and it's hard to say like well. This was like this was a phone she provence feebly worked with, but I don't work with those people anymore. I don't need to have their home phone numbers or you know this is when we were going to this place in the summer, but we don't go to that place in the summer anymore that that chapters over sometimes I like to keep the paper. This is like a memento but its very unsatisfying kind of memento. It's not thoughtful. It's hot, purposeful, it's a beautiful! If I wanted to, I can take a picture of it if I'd like others to something charming about seeing this marked up bonus.
Like I came, I did come across this and I was glad I had kept it. I had a summer associate job one time with that. I hated. I really did not like this, and I had made a cow I've done that thing where you have to counter the summer and then you mark off every day
I found out, and that was anymore memento. So that's funny by a hum, but for something like that, I could have just taken a picture of it and had the same thing than having exe
artifact so that I was gonna, I some kind of contradicting myself. I was glad that I kept that when finally gretchen you tell people never make a folder labelled miscellaneous or anything that so that they,
I, like a paraphrase of that. I literally, and I'm saying this- is something that I did like a year ago I made up. I had all these papers lying out on my counter, because I've sort of this counter my home office- and I was like what am I going to do with these- like they don't really go anywhere
I feel like I need them their use Paul and yet I never look it down, but there too valuable. What do I do so? I made a folder called active, useful documents. Guess how many times I ve taken that folders never never never looked at folder, so not useful, not useful. It's like they are ineffective.
We not not active, useful folder innocent said just another way to say miscellaneous now know I pulled only myself sounds funny
now that europe is there anything that you have struggled with well, you know
paper? I struggle with is business car? Oh I'm kind of surprise there you even encounter business cards. That implies
only way, business cards,
they do. You know I don't have one myself, although I probably should I guess, but,
I get them at various meetings I go to or if it's some
the ring up even in the podcast worlds. I got a lot of you know: people get me business cards,
thing is I'm whenever I get it, I'm like. Oh, I need this business card, but I've never once used one of these business cards, but I feel route
Throwing them away as it's like some one's personal information weight, so you keep it not because your thing
in one day? I will need this you're. Thinking like this is an important. This is like something related to a person, and I need to respect that person's person head would starts with ice,
I'll use it and then once I realize I won't use it, and I don't even remember like the context for it, then I have just like a feeling of it being like attached to a human being. This is something that I think is really helpful,
just the longer you hold onto things the harder they are to get rid of and says something like a business card, you might really wanted to say, like I'm gonna throw
out like on my way.
Out of the cars I'm going to stick it in my pocket and I'm just going to clear my pocket and throw it away right away, because then first of all doesn't enter into your space and, second of all, you don't start hat because then, when you have a pile of business cards, you're like oh, what am I going to do with these business cards
I can just throw them all out, but you really can you never use them? I think are also offering a business card. It's just like a gesture in many situations. I feel like it's a gesture of like I'm connecting with you and it's like it's like shaking hands or something, and so it's done it's job you know is Marie kondo would say you know it's like fulfilled it's little destiny as being an object, a token of connection, and now you can put it in the recycling bin. I'm going to start doing that, but I'm so glad you mentioned this because I actually have a notebook that has pages that are have specific pockets that are exactly the size of business cards.
And for a long time, and I would put business cards in there and I loved, because it was such a cunning solution for what do you do with your been herds, but it really I've looked in that thing for like seven years
like I do not a toss, those I can get wild give it got. It could well because it is like if you are personally uses it. This can be a very handy thing, but I'll I'll, tossed the business cards and I'll get that thing off. My shop is taking a valuable bookshelf. Real estate in my office- and I had never reconsidered at this- is this is good
or are we gotta go clear papers scratch me I'd that you'd there's never an end to it. I feel like I've done it a million times having to do with another one like soon as I get home. Let us know if you do try this at home and how tossing unnecessary papers work for you and what are the questions? The strategy
use, the tips, the mantras that you use to help you make it easier to decide? What's worth keeping and then what's really worth sticking in the recycling? Let us know on instagram, twitter facebook drop us an email at podcast, with gretchen rubin dot com or going to have your cast dot com, one thousand seven hundred and twenty four everything related. This episode coming up with got what I would call a very festive happy natak, but first this break intelligent, it's time for a happiness hack.
This had comes from Sarah. She says my friends and I sometimes find it challenging to spend holidays together. So we created our own holiday eleven
Levin is angel day. We vote on something we all like to do together and celebrate being together. We write cards with wishes for the coming year and we build onto it each year
I love this idea Alyssa, because it's sort of a mash up of several ideas that we've talked about. One is in one hundred and fifty episode. One hundred and fifty eight. We talked about creating a standardized vacation and
this idea. You don't even necessarily have to plan a trip. You could live in the same city and like make a plan to get together for lunch or copy, or if you can't even get together, you could still
written by sending cards and messages and things like that us and is the note of whimsie from episode one
He thinks this is just a man like you. They have angel. Maybe you can have it
then he wanted to make it like a spawning crazy, as you thought yes and is also related to one of your favorite things gretchen, and we talked about an episode. Eighty eight, which is celebrate minor holidays,
right. So in our house we make a big deal of things like Saint Patrick stay valentine.
today, because the big holiday sometimes get to be so much work that it can be a little overwhelming. So its funding just have a playful holiday,
an elevated to like creating your own holiday. Whatever suits you pick it eight yes
on a kind of reminds me of recently grudge with the royal wedding, I feel like a lot of women, at least in my world turn that into a kind of a holiday, yes and guy
together and had parties, and we know war hats I mean I I I did
It was just fun because it was something special in so whenever you sort of create a special day, it brings out everybody's festive side will- and I think this is thank you- need a prompt. You need a catalyst and sometimes people let you know people complain about mothers, their fathers, dancing, that's or or valentine's day and say it's a it's an artificial holidays.
forced on us by. You know, like consumerism, that we have to participate in this, but the fact is that I think it's great to have a reason to think. Like.
wow. I really like. Let me think about my mother. Let me call my mother. Let me some like a mother, a card or or a present and same thing with your father, like you
need something to remind you. It's not that you don't believe at all days of the year, but you need something. That's like okay, I'm gonna focus on this relationship right now, and so, if you said oh, what with these people I want to have I want to have that moment. Then you can create it yourself, and you know we all need it,
used to buy fun kurds. I thing I love line from cards, but when do you send them to whom I think I would love to have reason to, like you know, plan a fine get together and dumb send people. My good wishes.
Yeah it's a great idea that they made it an easy to remember data like eleven eleven. Yes, that will help everybody stay on board. Yes, yet Walton eleven
As you know, my wedding anniversary is by total coincidence. We did not plan; this is nine thousand four hundred and ninety four, and that is been so useful to me, because otherwise, I'm sure I would have no
What my wedding anniversary is- and I know mit I think I mentioned before- because I was so enchanted by this mit- sends its college admissions notifications on march. Fourteen.
pie day three went live, or so you can ignore
your day, pick a cool day pick a day, this memorable for some reason, because young people, if people can remember it, it'll, be easier to celebrate it. So thank you. Sarah, for such a fund hack, we should all go out and invent our own holiday, absolutely analysis. It is time for a happiness, stumbling block, and this is, I think, a stumbling block that we all experience. Maybe it's part of the human condition and it takes many forms, but is the stumbling block of late
feeling prostrated by other people because they, for some reason, are just not seeing things clearly. You know and you're thinking why
Is it that I'm the only one who understands what's really going on here and the fact is,
We all need remember, is each of us may not be as right as we think we are yeah. That's that's a very good point, one that I think we all have trouble grasping yet because we all think that we see the world clear.
I mean it's just you think you see, you think you see the world the way that it is and that everyone sees the world the way that you do, I'm one of the things about studying the four tendencies and setting habit, change and happiness is just striking to me, it's surprising to me how often people really just do view different situations,
from different perspectives. I mean lizzie, you talk a lot about refraining in the power of refraining. That's really just saying you can see the world in a different way. You can choose to see a different reality if you set this thing up in your mind, is crazy. How often people just don't see the world in this
Y yeah, it's not that anyone is trying to to thwart. You said they honestly see it different
way and they're just as bewildered at the layer. You see the world as you are and the way they see the world right and what's fun about this. Is it's true like as we're talking about it with ideas and perspective?
but it's also to this in a sheer perception of the world's literally. What are you seeing? What are you hearing and there's all these crazy examples? So, let's go through some of the ones that I think it could have been in the news said one it will add august. One is optical. Illusion we ve all seen a million optical is, as we all know how you can see different things and that's part of the fun of optical illusion is how people pursue things too
Here are some some other ones. Do you remember a couple of years ago when there was that gigantic thing on the internet, where there was that dress, it was either people
was either white and gold or blue and black stripes, and what was crazy about it was how much people were unable to see what others saw it was like. You saw what you saw, and it was unthinkable that anybody, because people were just bewildered, as you say, because it's like what is this I saw. I saw what turned out to be the mountain, the more common perception which is white and gold. I saw an absolute one. Hundred percent of white and gold dress,
soil is a white gold as well, so guess what it was? Actually blue and black o relay? Yes, why
I will propose to link in the show notes again. This is absurd one. Seventy two! If you don't
member this or if you want to look at the dress again and the what I'm in a link to has a picture of the dress under like clear light, so you will see the actual dress so that you can compare it to what you thought you saw. So that's so interesting saw postal linked to that
now, just recently a little while ago, there was a kind of a similar sensation. This time, through audio illicit did you were, you
word of the hall. A yanni laurel thing. Did you tap into this? Yes, it was yes. There was a word that some people heard yanny and some people her laurel. I heard yanny I did too. I did it, but the thing is you are like
nowhere close to laurel it's like how how is anybody's. I thought it was like some kind of weird prank or like if everybody said
if I hear something, then you go along with it like one of those psychology experiments, but then it oh everybody's punk be or I I it was crazy. Let's hear it.
yup there, you go well clearly yanni to me yeah. So I will put a link to an article about this. If you want to understand more like how this came out- and it was some students actually who discovered on a pronunciation website and noticed that people were perceiving it differently on, but what what they're saying is that
two things going on. One is your ears and the other is your equipment could be influencing this, but people definitely here different thanks and then,
link, it'll, show you how you can move the frequencies around, so you can hear it go from vienna laurel. It's quite interesting, so here's elizabeth, like a less kind of five senses, kind of thing, and this is more like what is the meaning. So I'm in a red you, this statement, and you tell me what you think it means this is the aphorism give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Is this about the nature of procrastination? Or is this about the value
of preparation. I interpret that as being about the value of preparation. Ok, see when I read that I thought it was about procrastination which surprised me when I realized that the person who said this was abraham, lincoln
we- and I felt like once I knew Abraham lincoln- was the person who said it than I was like. Then I
this other meaning. But my automatic assumption was that it was about procrastination. So it's like
that's abraham, lincoln. You now famous communicator that inhere sending interesting back to site
as we get older, and I know this because I'm obsessed with color, as you know, I'm working on my color pilgrimage and I've been doing all this research on color and it turns out that as you get older, you see the word world yellower and then
we're time our lenses, the lenses, our eyes get yellowish, and so we look at things as if we're looking through yellow filter and that can make it hard to distinguish blue from purple and yet
oh from green and yellow green, especial in colors are washed out it's hard and illicit
You remember when dad had his cataracts removed, he remarked how much bluer
World luck. Do you remember, then? Yes, yes, yes, he said everything looks so clear and so blue he hadn't realized. That is what he was seeing, was becoming more yellow and so again, if somebody like that had changed yeah. So if you say to somebody, does this lipstick look good on me like they will actually see a difference.
Well yeah and gretchen. We should talk about. You know this sort of the sea,
kick meaning of our different perceptions of have. It relates to the happiness stumbling block will always thinking where right yeah, but listen before we give it.
Can't you one more example and then we'll get to the point of this ok cause. I just can't resist so you
don't smell your house? The way gus smells at your house like so you, if you ve ever notice like people, you can't smell at your own house and it's interesting, because when your brain perceives assent to be non threatening like its perceiving ascend to be happening over and over, it decides, while there is no need to pay very close attention to it, and there is one study where the researcher gave people on air fresheners that had this pine smell and they put them in their bedroom.
For three weeks and and people and at the people start to say? Oh, it's not working anymore because they could no longer smell the pines out what was working, they just can perceive it and so on, and they think scientists think it's because what's important about smells too
does detect change in our environment, and so, if it's predictable, you don't need to pay attention to it, and so it fades out, and so it's really true, you know your house could have a very powerful smell, a good smell or a bad smell, and you can't smell it. Hm well, that's kind of frightening yeah, yeah yeah
but it was a cheer point like this is just a reminder of the you know, and I have this all the time I'm like why. Why can't other people? Why don't other people just
with a programme are like. Why don't they understand? What's going on here? Think people see the world differently. They have a different perspective. They might literally be seen colors differently, but they also might just think what's important and a situation is different. The responsibilities are different, the values that are at play
A a different value is more important to them than a value is important to you. It's hard to hang on to that yeah. I think it goes to don't assume the worst or do you assume that someone is really just trying?
mess you I'll, let you know them, they realize may have the best of intentions, and sometimes even
just knowing that, even if you can't reach agreement because yet true, because the two of you truly don't agree, you can at least sort of ease the anger and resentment. Yes, that you carry out of this situation and that's really what the stumbling block is all about. Our internal frustration over these situation fright right when we don't understand why people are acknowledging what is true in real.
But to remind ourselves will they may have a different view? That's true for them, even if their hearing Annie and I'm hearing laurel, it's not the one person's right. One person's wrong is that we are experiencing the world in a different way.
So if anybody has other examples of that, I feel like it's kind of an abstract thing to have an example of, but if you have other good examples of that, I am fascinated by these. I think it's just. How is it possible that half the world sees a blue and black dress and half the world is white and gold? And yet it's true so send us any examples that you have of things like that. So interesting, yes, grudge just goes in our house. We have the great blue
in debate Adam and I do not agree on what is blue and what is green relay
Oh, I mean like get into that the next time I come to see you guys that coming up, I give myself
dry cleaning, demerit first,
Ok, I was at time for american and gold stars and we take turns giving demerits and gold stars, and this is your turn for tomorrow
Yes, sir gretchen I've been wearing a lot of nice outfits lately in the wake of me
show going to serious, there's lots of meetings and lunches and dinners, as you know, you ve actually and wearing, could well. Yes, yes, I'm actually wearing real close a lot of the time.
I'm and what I have found myself doing, and I know many of our listeners struggle with us as well
is, if I, where is something just
a couple of hours and I could wear it again.
and it doesn't really need to be cleaned rather
hanging it up and putting it back in the closet so that I can use it again. I put it.
on the floor or on top of my laundry basket. Thinking I'll. Hang it up later.
And then it inevitably gets all crumpled and mashed in with my other dirty clothes, and then I do have to dry cleaning
I'm doing waymore dry cleaning that I need to do, which is you know, extremely lyrics
in writing? I do not always by the environment as ya'll, so it's like there's nothing
good about doing more dry cleaning. Then you need to do plus it's a hassle, it's a huge hassle, but Elizabeth.
Steam. Are you like a real, proper steamer? Have you thought of steaming these link if it's a shirt or something like that occurring
I have not, but that is a good idea. I should do that.
That could definitely in some of these instances, help me out. Of course, what I really should do is just hang them up after I wear them yeah. But if I don't do that, I should try steamer, because that is like ten dollars for every item so
It could save me hundreds of dollars, and I remember because you have a like it's like a it's like the kind of steamer I feel like. This is like the kind of steamer that a real adult house where it's like, sits on the floor and it's it's it's real, a real piece of thing,
and when we were clearing your closet. I was like. Oh I really. I wish I had room for this. I would love to have a steamer, but I just don't have it would have to like leaving in the middle of the bed.
So I have like a little travel one that doesn't work very well as, like one want elizabeth steamer, that's a great steamer. It's like mom, steamer yeah, so try using your stephen
I will try that ok grudge. What is your gold star this week?
Oh, I love this gold star, ok background. I love scratch and steps. I have always loved scratches lives.
Elizabeth. You are a hero in my world of scratch and says because growing up you had a collection. You awoke to the power of the scratches before I did and you had your enemies do. We still have it mom and dad still have this basket with your massive collection of scraps.
in steph's. I feel like this summer them even still smell a lot of them still smell. Oh yeah, the grape ones, in that the pickle wine yeah yeah anyway, it's super fun. Even for my book happier at home, which I talk about my obsession with.
Smell. We gave out as part of the promotion a bookmark that had scratch and sniffs on it. So I got to create my own little scratch and sniffs and I feel like actually to any entrepreneurs out there. I feel like scratch and sniff is really it. It can be the new temporary tattoo, like there's a lot that we should all be doing with graphs and stuff they're, so fun and the us postal service
rose to the challenge of the scratch and seven and yes, they are releasing their first scratch and sniff postage stamps on June twentieth
they are watercolor images of ice pops and ice cream bars and they will have a sweet summer scent that note they are not disclosing anything else yet. So I'm very excited to check out my first scratch and sniff postage stamp the world.
it just keeps evolving yeah, and that is the er. This episode of happier remember to try this at home toss unnecessary papers. Let us know if you tried it and if it worked for you. Thank you
or producer of Delia Rubin, also thanks to Andy bowers and christian minds or a panoply get in touch gretchen's on twitter, at Gretchen Rubin and I'm at elizabeth craft. Our email addresses podcasting, gretchen, rubin dot com, as always, if you liked this show please
to tell a brand and subscribe to us rated review us where every last year, pica now for the resources talking of scratched his
In view of how much I love temporary tattoos- and we have happier temporary tattoos happier
You can email me and I will mail you a temporary tattoo, but be sure
clear, mailing arose, because this is an actual thing that I will make you and I'm sorry. But I can only do these is this in? U s in canada
as a male in this is actually something that I will mail. So I'm very, very sorry, artless nurse who live in other parts of the world, but I can do it someday.
and we also want to remind you of the other unwearied project shows happier in hollywood of course, and Sarah talk about their Gabriel.
adventures in hollywood every week.
If you're in hollywood and then, if you want to have a podcast every day, a short brilliant thought provoking podcast check out Chris gill of us podcast side hustle school, where he talks about just a multiplicity of
he is strategies and tips or getting going on your side,
Sandra happier in hollywood is,
job and it
and the montier for christmas is inspiration is good, but inspiration, plus action is so much better until next week, I'm alone
This craft and I am ready and ruin thanks for joining us onward. An upward already ex ante went wrong on that one
Transcript generated on 2022-06-14.